Funding Circle has raised $150m in equity capital, in a round led by DST Global, with participation from Baillie Gifford, a fund managed by BlackRock, Sands Capital Ventures and Temasek.
The new funding will be used to consolidate the UK and US markets and fuel further growth.
The investment comes as lending to small businesses via the marketplace surges past the $1bn mark globally, following sustained growth in both the UK and US markets.
And investors at Funding Circle are on track to lend $1bn over the next year, showcasing the huge potential of marketplace lending on the global economy.
Samir Desai, CEO and co-founder of Funding Circle, said: “We believe Funding Circle is the future of small business finance globally, and it’s a vision we share with some of the largest and most respected investors in the world.
“Today’s news is the next step on our journey to creating a sustainable, category-defining business in a multi-billion dollar global market, where businesses will come to the marketplace to borrow from all types of investors.
“This investment, alongside prudent risk management, will ensure Funding Circle’s long term future.”
Yuri Milner, founder of DST Global, added: “We are delighted to support Samir and the team at Funding Circle as they continue to grow and deliver value to both sides of their marketplace.”
In addition, Funding Circle has bolstered its leadership team with the appointments of David Yu as global chief product officer and Chitra Nayak as US chief operating officer.
Former CEO and CTO of Betfair, Yu has extensive experience driving forward successful technology companies.
As Betfair’s CEO, he grew revenues to over $600m by emphasizing the development of new products and spearheading the company’s geographic expansion.
Nayak, the former COO of Platform at Salesforce, also has extensive experience building global businesses.
Nayak grew Salesforce’s pipeline from $350m to $2b during her time leading the company’s global sales development.
In total, Funding Circle has now raised $273m in equity funding, and existing investors include Index Ventures, Accel Partners, Union Square Ventures and Ribbit Capital.
In July last year, Funding Circle announced its Series D round for $65m, and welcomed Robert K. Steel, CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners, to the board.